IOWA CITY — The University of Iowa has put its first students on an admission waitlist after imposing a new application deadline of March 1 in hopes of keeping next fall’s freshmen class from growing too big.

UI administrators in January announced the earliest-ever deadline, as applications were pouring in and projections showed the upcoming freshmen class could top 6,000 for the first time. President Bruce Harreld over the past year has said he wants to keep the campus’ first-year class in the “sweet spot” of about 5,400.